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Patapan: Traditional Burgundian Carol (w/CD), edited by Michael Story. Belwin-Mills Publishing Co.; Warner Bros. Publications (15800 N.W. 48th Ave., Miami, FL 33014), 2003. Beginning to intermediate.
in my capacity as the director of our school's string program, I have string orchestras in all three division levels: lower, middle and upper school. When AMT asked me to review Patapan, I thought I would try a little experiment. I had my grade five through six upper school ensemble play it first. They read it at tempo, at sight and were very complimentary about the arrangement. Next, my grade two through three middle school ensemble sight read it at mm=80 one time and then played it through at tempo the second time, including the piano part. The best test was my grade one lower school ensemble. We were able to play this almost to performance caliber within thirty minutes.
What was so nice about this arrangement was it sounded good at all three levels. This shows the mark of a fine arranger: playability and melodic accessibility. All the parts are right ...